Regarding Cultural Appropriation as it relates to song sharing
As part of the reckoning that song carriers have been doing with the legacy of oppression, we suggest the following:
If you are leading a song you didn’t write yourself, learn the author/origin of that song and share that aloud with the song to give proper credit.
If you are leading a song from a cultural lineage that is not your own ancestral heritage, learn the context of that music, be aware of the story and any responsibilities that may come with it. (Some songs are only supposed to be shared in very specific settings; it is not honorable to pull those songs out from their roots to share in ways their creators would not be ok with.)
Be clear on why you are singing the song, as well as why it was written.
Honor and respect the music as is, don’t change it.
If you regularly lead songs from a culture not your own, actively seek ways to give back to the people who gifted that music to the world; be in reciprocal relationship with that community.
Recognize that positive intentions, while good, are insufficient to avoid being an agent of harm. For those who suffer them, impacts linked to a long history of injustice and systemic abuse are especially painful and problematic. We have a long, long way to go to unlearn those patterns and find healing in the greater whole. When stuff comes up, it’s important to honor each other’s experience.
We offer these guidelines as our best thinking (based on others’ best thinking) so far on this theme which is important and fraught. That said, these are not a set of rules or promises from the organizers; we recognize there are many perspectives on how to deal with these situations and we are all learning and growing together over time. If you have feelings or are impacted by how a person is sharing a song, we encourage you to speak up with curiosity, care, and respect.
We believe in listening well to each other even when we disagree. Mistakes and upsets happen, we aim to learn and grow from them.
